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Berlin Museum Island: Germany under the influence of high pressure
Photo: Sergey Borisov / PantherMedia / Sergey Borisov
Hold on for a few more days and then the weather in Germany should be much friendlier: after rain and snow, a strong high pressure area is expected to bring lots of sunshine to Germany next week.
Before that, however, a storm at the southern tip of Greenland would bring some precipitation into the country, said the German Weather Service (DWD) in Offenbach.
During the night of Sunday, the rain in Schleswig-Holstein is likely to turn into wet snow or sleet, and there could also be freezing rain locally.
During the day, the front spreads across the middle of Germany.
The precipitation will then increasingly turn into snow or sleet over the course of the day from Hamburg and Lübeck to the Allgäu, forecasts meteorologist Helge Tuschy from the DWD.
One to four centimeters of fresh snow could fall within twelve hours, especially in the north and between the Harz Mountains and Franconia and on the edge of the Alps.
Between Lusatia and Rügen and from midday in the north-west, the cloud will break up and it will remain dry.
The maximum values are one degree in the east and nine degrees in the west, in the eastern mountains light permafrost is to be expected.
Cloudy weather in North Rhine-Westphalia
People in North Rhine-Westphalia have to be prepared for cloudy, rainy weather at the weekend before it gets sunny there at the start of the week.
According to the DWD, there will be no precipitation on Saturday, but it will be cloudy, with temperatures rising to five degrees in the east and nine in the west.
In the night to Sunday there can also be snow or sleet with local ice in the Hochsauerland and in the direction of the Weserbergland.
It is expected to rain again on Sunday, and fresh snow may fall in the highest Sauerland.
During the night of Monday, the precipitation in North Rhine-Westphalia is expected to decrease, and there is a risk of ice at high altitudes with temperatures down to minus four degrees.
Start of the week with sunshine
Monday will probably be a transitional day in large parts of Germany with initially still dense clouds in many places and decreasing light snowfalls before the sun increasingly comes out in the afternoon, especially in the north and west.
The maximum values are in the south and east of Bavaria around zero degrees, in the rest of Germany between one and six degrees.
From Tuesday onwards it will be sunnier and dry under the influence of high pressure and frosty cold nights, where there is snow there can also be severe night frost.
Plenty of snow - and a warning
After the snow doldrums in the first half of January, some ski areas should be happy about the weather, such as the Thuringian Forest.
The DWD reported on Saturday a 43-centimetre-high snow cover on the Schmücke ridge in the Kyffhäuser district.
According to the Thuringian Forest regional association, it was two centimeters more in the Silbersattel ski arena in Steinach.
40 centimeters were measured in Suhl, on the Schneekopf and the Beerberg.
For Oberhof, where the Biathlon World Championships will open on Tuesday, the regional association indicated up to 25 centimeters of snow.
A trip to the snow-covered forest at the weekend is worthwhile for amateur winter sports enthusiasts.
More than 400 kilometers of cross-country skiing trails are groomed, as well as 38 winter hiking trails for day-trippers without skis.
Nine lifts were open for alpine skiers on Saturday, and 30 toboggan slopes were prepared for fun on the toboggan.
However, the snow quality is different.
After the rain had fallen in the Thuringian Forest in the meantime, some ski routes have become crusted, according to the regional association.
There is mostly wet snow.
The DWD predicts another up to ten centimeters of fresh snow by Monday evening, as a spokesman said.
The regional association also warned day-trippers to be careful again because of snow breakage on trees and storm damage.
The weather in Saxony-Anhalt turned friendly for the weekend.
While it was mostly sunny on Saturday with temperatures up to seven degrees in the lowlands, it remained wintry at higher altitudes.
At the igloo festival in Schierke (Harz district), visitors built shelters and figures out of snow in the town's spa gardens.
According to the organizers, however, this first had to be collected in the park.
On Sunday, too, people around the Harz region could initially look forward to a lot of sun.
However, during the day a cloud front will gather from the west, which could cause frosty temperatures around freezing point and a little snow in the afternoon, not only on the Brocken, the spokesman said.
jus/dpa
